Fred gave up the security of a great career, started a small dog kennel business and went about finding contentment in his life. There were no signposts or directions to where he wanted to go but he got there and along the way he fell in love with cycling. This documentary celebrates his new found zest for life and love in the green pastures of his own back yard.

Some people climb mountains, walk across continents or embark on daring adventures in search of their true identity. Fred realized that true contentment lied within and having found it now relishes each day for what it brings.

Fred’s gentle life philosophies combine with the beautiful Irish landscape in a journey on the roads of his beloved Kerry & Cork.

Short Synopsis

Meet Fred, a man who went about finding contentment and happiness in his life and along the way he fell in love with cycling. It celebrates his gentle philosophy on life, the landscapes of Ireland and the open road.

There are millions of us searching for our real identities but life gets in the way. It is important that we show how an ordinary person who found his, can find such joy and happiness in life, in a documentary that is both uplifting and positive throughout.

Many modern documentaries dealing with the search for one’s true identity involve dramatic and often dangerous adventures. The physical journeys get longer and more extreme by the day. It is almost essential for the main character to be recovering from a life trauma, an illness, an addiction or to have received a terminal diagnosis before waking up to their life. In a lot of cases these documentaries turn out to be more about the journey without than the journey within.

I was also growing tired with the modern trend to produce documentaries in a manner, which demands an ever-increasing emotional investment by the viewer. Our heartstrings can only stretch so far.

Life for most of us is not this dramatic and we can be unhappy and unfulfilled without trauma or incident. Why should we need a wake up call to make us seek happiness and contentment?

Fred was simply in a rut and felt that there must be more to life. He woke up to this fact on his own terms. There were no medical diagnosis or major incidents that pushed him. That’s what makes Fred’s story so impressive.

I wanted people to celebrate with Fred, to hear his gentle life philosophies, and to enjoy the open roads of the beautiful Irish landscape on two wheels. This documentary is a guilt free zone!

Recording Fred on his bike was a joy as I cycled with him throughout. Shooting mostly from the saddle with compact cameras was the best way to capture the open road to give the viewer a very real perspective. The regularly flowing camera movement represents the freedom that Fred now enjoys in his own back garden; the lush and beautiful landscape of Counties Kerry & Cork.

FRED & PAUL – GARDEN INTERVIEW

Director’s Bio:

Paul Dolan is a keen cyclist and video producer. He is also an Architectural Designer and 3D specialist and enjoys Architectural Photography.

This is Paul’s first documentary. He has had a portfolio of short videos displayed at Killorglin’s annual Arts Festival, K-Fest 2015 where his work received warm praise and feedback for its relaxing pace and portrayal of the beauty of cycling in Ireland.

Featuring:

Fred O’Sullivan.

Owner of Penthouse Dog Kennels, Gneeveguilla, Co. Kerry.

A man who loves Dog’s and cycling. A voracious reader who can sing a hymn or two and has conducted choirs in Ireland & France.

Screenings:

Participant at Short Screen Killarney 2016 : A celebration of short form film.

ROUGHTY BRIDGE, KENMARE, CO.KERRY

Feedback on Documentary:

Hazel Maria Bohan Best Documentary loved it. Well done and I fully understood Fred and his connection to switching off. Inspiring to say the least.

Owen J Daly An inspiring documentary in both the subject and the scenery. Everyone should see Paul’s stunning camerawork and listen to Fred’s insightful life philosophy. Well done to both of you

Declan Mulvany Exceptional piece of work look forward to seeing it again

Jerry LaneJust wanted to reach out and congratulate you on Fred. I saw it last night at the showing in Killarney and was really moved by it. Fred seems like a genuinely great guy, and his attitudes on life are hugely admirable

Bríd Ryan A very beautiful film both in content and scenery. A wonderful balance. Captivating.

FRED TALKING ABOUT THE MANY VARIED INSECTS IN HIS GARDEN

FAQ’s :

What was your inspiration for this documentary?

I love listening to people’s stories. Fred is very articulate and expressive and I found his own personal journey to freedom inspiring. I wanted to celebrate his achievement in this documentary.

You don’t show Fred’s journey in the documentary. Why leave out the highs and lows of this?

Fred is a fairly private man and whilst the twists and turns of his journey to contentment might have been interesting they are personal to him. I was determined to keep this documentary positive and uplifting. We see enough darkness and emotion on our screens these days and sometimes it’s good to give the viewers some easy viewing and leave them wanting more.

Definitely the scene with the Sparrow Hawk. We were having some coffee in Fred’s Kitchen having completed the interview and suddenly the Sparrow Hawk landed on a bush in his garden, which was only about 20metres away from the house. I had to grab the nearest zoom camera and shoot through the all glass Kitchen door trying to avoid frightening the Sparrow Hawk away.

The bird is a frequent visitor to Fred’s garden however the previous year a Wildlife Photographer spent 3 days with Fred waiting to catch a glimpse of the bird. He never arrived. So on that day we were very fortunate.

What would you like people to take away from this Documentary?

Once they enjoy it I am happy. I suppose the main point is summed up by Fred in that he may have travelled to all four corners of the globe looking for answers or happiness but what he realized was that it lies within his own back garden. So people don’t have to climb mountains, walk Camino’s or embark on dangerous adventures to find contentment in their life.

What cameras were used in the making of this documentary?

I used a mixture of DSLR, GoPro and some fairly standard compact zoom cameras. Because the cycling scenes were all shot from the saddle I had to travel light and use compact cameras. Myself, Fred and our friends headed off for days cycling and I captured the footage from our spin. I wanted the footage and the smiles to be real and not staged. Thankfully the lads all carried some of my spare cameras, batteries and audio equipment. The cycling scenes are 6 to 8 months of accumulated footage from all over Kerry & Cork.

Were there any unusual shooting conditions?

Because I shot all of the cycling footage from the saddle, the most difficult scenes were the descents. A steady hand was needed for Moll’s Gap on both the handlebars and the camera!